I say I do too, and Liberato grins, saying, “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, hermano.”
I wrap my arms around Rain and pull her in, kissing her deeply and showing her everything she’s about to experience with me. The passion, the love, the sense of belonging. She’ll never be alone again.
She laughs and shrieks happily as I pick her up and carry her out of the church. Outside, the dying sun makes for a magnificent backdrop as I place her on silk sheets that have been set up for us. There’s a billowing canopy above us, and we kiss and watch the sunset until the last rays of sun disappear into the horizon. Even then, neither of us wants to return inside.
Rain leans over me, kissing my lips softly and trailing her fingers over my chest.
“Are you going to consummate this marriage, Don Heath?” she asks sweetly, making me grin and pull myself up on my elbows.
“Are you asking me to fuck you, signora Rain?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking for,” she purrs.
“How the fuck am I going to get you out of this dress?” I grunt as my fingertips follow the fabric-covered buttons in the back.
“Rip it,” she giggles.
If she wouldn’t have suggested it, I could have resisted the temptation. But now that she’s said it, it’s impossible to hold back. With a wide grin, I pull the dress apart. Buttons rain over us, making Rain giggle. Over her shoulder, I see the first star appear in the now dusky sky.
“I can’t get enough of you, Rain Gunn,” I mutter, enjoying the way her new name rolls off my tongue. “I’ll never get enough of you.”
“Likewise, Master,” she teases, making my cock throb painfully between us. “Make love to me. Show me how you’re going to give it to me every day now that we’re married.”
“Every day?”
“Sometimes twice,” she winks before kissing me again, her lips soft against mine.
I realize in that moment I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t remember a time like this, not even before my parents died. Nothing else matters. Not the cartel, not Xander or Xavier. Right now, it’s just my wife and me underneath the stars, and the promise of an epic love between us that will never disappear, not even after we’re long gone.
This is the stuff fairytales are made of, and I know our happily ever after will last forever.
I feel Rain pulling back from me, but I stop her, rolling us over so she’s caged under me.
“Where are you going?”
“I just…” She worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m worried.”
I don’t need to ask why. I’m sure we’re both constantly thinking about the same thing.
“We’ll figure out a way to keep our baby,” I mutter in her ear. “But you don’t need to worry about that yet. Not for a while. Not until the baby is old enough.”
“Okay,” she whispers, and the defeat in her voice makes me fucking worry. She doesn’t believe me anymore. She doesn’t think we’ll get to keep our family the way it is.
Something takes over me then and with a growl, I lover my lips to her exposed nipples. I suck them, not holding back on the conflicting emotions I’m feeling. Whimpers escape Rain’s mouth and she wails my name, begging me for more.
Luckily for her, I’m far from done.
I make love to her underneath the stars that night, again and again, until both our bodies are spent with the force of what we did for hours. Once she’s worn out, I wrap her up in the grass-stained silk sheets and carry her into the master bedroom, our bedroom now.
As I watch her lay in our bed, I light a cigar, watching her sleep in an armchair in the corner. My mind goes back to everything we’ve been through. Meeting Rain and her Nana for the first time, the letters I sent her. Every atrocity Xavier put us through. How we somehow found our way back to one another, regardless of that.
I’m not sure I’d still be here if it weren’t for Rain Ferrell.
When she came back into my life, I’d fucked up enough times to find myself hopeless. I didn’t know how to make it out of the mess I’d gotten into. The drugs, the cartel, the blood-thirst I felt every time I killed someone… All things that made me miserable, made me wait for death rather than wake up excited for the new day.
But Rain showed me there was more to life than the numbing embrace of those powders and poisons I used to be addicted to. I know in a way; I clung to them because of what they represented—my own dark past and the strength I needed to find within myself to break free of that. But in doing that, I allowed the drugs to take over. I chose them over myself. That will never happen again, and it’s all because of her.